I traveled back to ancient times, but I was able to lie down and relax.

After finalizing the renovation plan, Liu Nanjia discussed it with Aunt Wang the following day when she came over.

"Aunt Wang, we want to do a major renovation of this yard and build a few rooms. Is Uncle Wang capable of doing that?"

Building houses in rural areas is relatively simple. Most houses are built with adobe bricks, and there's no need to hire a construction team. You can basically find someone in the village and build it yourself.

Upon hearing Liu Nanjia's request, Aunt Wang immediately agreed on behalf of her husband: "If it's complicated, he really can't do it. These aren't difficult for you. I'll go home and talk to him about it." With that, she put down the eggs that had been delivered and was about to leave.

"Aunt Wang, don't worry, we haven't settled the wages yet," Liu Nanjia stopped her.

"Hey, what are you talking about wages for?" Aunt Wang instinctively wanted to refuse.

“That won’t do. It was fine to ask Uncle Wang to help build a stove or repair a courtyard wall before, but this is building several houses. How can we not pay him?”

"Besides, I also want to finish building it quickly. I can't let Uncle Wang do it all by himself. I also need to ask other people in the village to help."

"Do we need to hire other people? Is it in such a hurry?" Aunt Wang finally stopped.

"Yes, we're in the food business, so we need to make sure our kitchens are in good condition. If we build more stoves and ovens, we can cook more food and make more money."

Aunt Wang was convinced this time, "That's true."

Then he told Liu Nanjia about the village's rules for hiring people to do work: "Building a house is considered heavy physical work, and it usually costs 15 coins a day. If a meal is included, the cost can be reduced to 12 or 3 coins. When hiring people in the village, people usually choose those who provide meals. If you cook a big pot of food, it won't cost more than 2 coins per person, so you can save money wherever you can."

Liu Nanjia thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go for 15 coins, excluding meals."

Aunt Wang thought she couldn't cook for so many people. "It's supposed to be a meal service, but it's basically just coarse flour buns with some pickled vegetables. It's easy to make. If you can't cook that many, I'll help you."

“Aunt Wang, it’s not a problem with the cooking. We make fried chicken bread, and the recipe has to be kept secret. If we include meals in the meal, people will inevitably come and go in the kitchen. What if the recipe gets leaked? I can afford the extra money.”

"Oh, right," Aunt Wang slapped her forehead, "How could I forget that? Look at my brain, you're so much more thoughtful. We can't let anyone steal our money-making ideas."

"So, I'd like to ask Uncle Wang to build the kitchen himself first, and then hire someone to build the others. After all, I need to keep the design of my oven a secret. It will be hard on you, Uncle Wang, but my brother and Song Chen will try their best to help."

"No problem, it's not hard at all. In that case, let him get started quickly." He said, and then turned to leave.

Liu Nanjia sighed helplessly. Aunt Wang was too impatient; she had just said yes.

"Wages! Uncle Wang's daily wage is 20 coins."

Aunt Wang immediately changed her mind, saying, "Why are you giving so much? Just give it to everyone else."

“Aunt Wang, when we invite people, most of them will probably be our uncles and elders. How can I command them? So I need Uncle Wang's help. I won't interfere with who does what. The foreman's wages will naturally be higher than the average person. Aunt Wang, please don't refuse. Besides you, I don't have any other people I can trust.”

Aunt Wang finally agreed, chuckling, "I never thought my husband could become a foreman."

Uncle Wang arrived quickly. Liu Nanjia repeated the request and then said, "Then I'll have to trouble Uncle Wang during this time."

“What’s so hard about it? Nan Jia, you’re paying me. This job is much better than carrying heavy loads at the dock. I should be thanking you.”

Uncle Wang gave a good-natured smile and got to work.

In the following days, everyone was very busy. Liu Nanjia was busy making and selling fried chicken, and Liu Sirou helped her.

Because Song Chen went to help Uncle Wang build a house, as did Liu Yanxi, and he also had to go to town with Liu Nanjia, they were busy with both things and it was quite tiring.

So, on the next day off, Liu Nanjia didn't even want to go to town, and instead stayed home all day.

She wanted to stop building the house for a day, but Uncle Wang disagreed, saying that the sooner it was finished, the sooner she could use the new kitchen and make more fried chicken to sell.

Liu Nanjia was starting to not want the new kitchen to be built quickly, because if she did more, wouldn't she be even more tired?

However, there was good news: after three more treatments, Song Chen's foot fully recovered and he no longer needed crutches.

To celebrate, Liu Nanjia slept in a little longer in the morning, but still cooked a lot of delicious food for lunch. He also invited Aunt Wang over, and together with their two sons, Da Hu and Xiao Hu, they had a lively meal.

That's right, they still eat lunch now. Although most villagers eat two meals a day, morning and evening, it's mainly to save money, not because they don't want to eat more.

Since I started the fried chicken business, I get home quite late, and relying on breakfast alone is simply not enough to sustain me.

Liu Nanjia insisted on adding an extra meal at noon, and finally returned to her usual routine of three meals a day.

At the dinner table, Aunt Wang's two sons, Wang Dahu and Wang Xiaohu, were wolfing down their food, which prompted Aunt Wang to slap each of them on the back: "Look at you two, how can you be so uncouth? Haven't Nan Jia given you enough fried chicken and bread? How come you're acting like you've never eaten anything before?"

"But I've never eaten such delicious food before. It's much better than what you make, Mom," Wang Xiaohu mumbled, still eating.

This prompted Aunt Wang to pat him again.

Liu Nanjia felt a little embarrassed. Actually, she just used more oil and salt, and there was more meat in the dish.

The two brothers, the older one being 14, are the same age as Song Chen, but not as tall, which brought Liu Yanxi a lot of comfort.

The other one is 10 years old. Both of them are honest and straightforward, just like Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang. Wang Dahu is like Uncle Wang, but more honest and simple, while Xiaohu is like Aunt Wang, but quick-witted. Their interactions often make Liu Nanjia very happy.

Uncle Wang brought them over to work for his family. As Aunt Wang put it, "These two boys do nothing at home all day, so they might as well come and help their father."

In fact, a 14-year-old boy is already considered a strong laborer in rural areas.

The main reason for sending them was to help her.

Liu Nanjia originally intended to pay them wages according to the usual standard, but Aunt Wang refused, saying that she could no longer take advantage of them.

After another round of back and forth, Wang Dahu gave 10 coins and Xiaohu gave 5 coins, which together amounted to the wages of one person.

So, in total, it can be said that there were 4 people building it together, with Liu Yanxi and Wang Xiaohu each counting as half a person.

The progress is quite fast. The new kitchen is basically complete and should be finished in another two days.